If you are ever in Angelesy, Wales you will find a six-foot bronze monument honouring a Maltese sailor by the name of Guze Ruggier.

One of his descendants, Prof. Raymond Agius, who created the website http://www.agius.com/maltese/ruggier.htm in memory of his great-great-great-uncle, was invited by the organisers to be present for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the wreck of the Royal Charter.

The Malta Independent on Sunday managed to trace other family members after running a story in September (“Are you related to Guze Ruggier?”) but, unfortunately, they were unable to be present at the ceremony.

The commemoration, held last week, refers to one of the most tragic shipwrecks in the UK. Onboard was crew member Guze Ruggier, then 31 (known to his shipmates as Joe Rogers) who tied a rope to his waist, swam to shore and set up a boatswain’s chair, managing to save 39 lives.

Guze Ruggier never married. His sister Polixena Ruggier was Prof. Agius’ great-great-grandmother, and besides her bloodline, there are descendants of his brothers.

Prof. Agius, told The Malta Independent on Sunday about this moving experience.

“Clearly it is very satisfying to see one’s distant ancestor being honoured in this way with a public monument, thousands of miles away from the land of his birth. However, the implications extend beyond ‘family’ as the commemoration is relevant to the social history of Malta’s seafaring tradition and emigration.”

Prof. Agius explained that the commemoration was spread over four days and was mainly centred around the location of the shipwreck close to the village of Moelfre, in the island of Anglesey in North Wales.

“Besides hundreds of local people, lifeboat men, historians and MPs, the descendants of victims or survivors of the tragedy were also present, many of whom came from other parts of the world.”

The commemorative events included the unveiling of the bronze statue of Joe Rogers, with his name inscribed next to a Maltese cross. There were also concerts and memorial services, including one by the local bishop in the church of Llanallgo.

Describing the atmosphere, Prof. Agius said, “There was a strong sense of empathy and solidarity. The sadness of the loss of well over 400 lives was tinged with admiration for the courage and other positive aspects of human nature exhibited by Ruggier and the men of Moelfre who saved lives and comforted others. I was invited to say a few words when I named a Celtic longboat after him and also at a concert in the congregational chapel called ‘Capel Carmel’. It was a truly moving and memorable event.”

Asked whether there has been any interest shown in Malta to honour his ancestor, Prof. Agius replies in the affirmative.

“The curators at the Maritime Museum in Birgu have shown an interest in Ruggier and have even identified a potential space for some exhibits in due course. However, ideally they would like more documentary information about the timing, background and circumstances of his emigration from Malta. Unfortunately, this information has been difficult to find. For example when I approached the archivist at the National Archives of Malta (Santo Spirito), she advised me that the relevant passport applications, around the time when we presume that he left Malta, are missing.”

According to his family’s oral history, the Ruggiers, including Guze’s father and brothers, were a seafaring family plying their trade between Malta, Northern Africa and probably Sicily.

“By all accounts he was a very shy and diffident man. He was the first and probably only person who was not a lifeboat man to be awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. In spite of this and other awards, he shunned publicity and died a pauper in Liverpool in 1899. After his death, through an appeal in the Liverpool Evening Express, money was raised to erect a tombstone in his memory.”